Holding it in
by PrincessBrightEyes
Summary: Echo and Austin had been dating for over six months now, but Echo still refuses to let go in front of her love. She knew Austin did not tolerate emotional people unless it was expressed through music. So how would he react if Echo cried in front of him?


I remember him escorting me out of the car and waking me home. I can remember thanking him for such a great dat. It was something I usually said. Then we would hug and kiss each other on the cheek. He would then return to the car and drive downtown to his mansion. Those good-byes were always familiar (at least for seven months).

But tonight was a little sparkly. Wait, no. Substantially spicy. So we ended up lingering a while at the door entrance, embracing each other, cherishing this time. It was almost indescribable to put it all in words. I just couldn't believe he rally adored me. Like really really adored me, of all other things in his home.

"Thank you," I whispered into his ear.

"You're welcome."

A angled my face to the left, kissing his nose. "You know how happy I am to be here with you?"

"I am so glad to hear that," he smiled, his eyes twinkling from behind his glasses.

I smiled back, training a finger down his lips and down his goatee. A faint light traced a blue line from his face and down, illuminating his leather hot like it was a silver tray of fruitcake.

I softly chuckled at the thought.

"What?" Austin tilted my chin up.

"Oh nothing," I looked up innocently. We then stared at each other.

What were we waiting for? What was I waiting for?

Then all of a sudden, this small force sparked me out of nowhere. I knew we had something…but I somehow wanted even more. Somehow, inexplicable, the world turned black. I'm not even kidding. I couldn't see anyone of anything but him.

I don't know if I drank too much wine or not. But…I remained silent as I watched his eyes laser into mine, causing the rest of the world to dissolve around us.

Hold him. Keep him. He must be worth it. Say something.

"Say, will you be able to get back okay?" I broke the silence.

"I will." He leaned in closer to me.

"And…" The space between our noses disappeared. With a gently sign, I exhaled into his lips, breathing out a warm whirl of air. It tumbled out, trickling like a falling drop of milk. So smoothly, it passed through my lips, winter white against the crisp, cool breeze.

Austin gave a low moan.

"We've seen each other…"

"For a while," he replied. He then shifted closer to me, tapping his fingers against my jaw, his eyes locked into mine.

"But hold on for a second," he suddenly stormed down the driveway, his voice now shaking.

A pang of mixed emotions attacked me, causing my eyes to sting and my head to throb.

What are we doing?

My heart was beating out of my chest as I looked on, watching him, breathless, as he paced to and fro, hunched over as if in pain. His boots made a series of clopping sounds, breaking the silence of the quiet, dark sidewalk.

He was in pain, emotional pain.

And so was I.

No…Oh no no no no no. Don't, oh please don't. Echo, you better not cry. I shut my eyes and looked down, letting my long, black hair shield my face away from him.

"Okay," he sighed as I heard him come back, his pace a little steadier.

I kept my head down, hiding away my fear from him.

He then cleared his throat and came closer. I could not see his boots right in front of mine. "Well first of all, are you alright?"

"Yes," my voice cracked. Darn, he probably knows I'm about to cry. A singled tear then fell down my cheek.

Silence.

Then he came up and lifted my head.

Shoot. He hates emotional people.

But he didn't glare at me surprisingly…He hugged me.

We stood there buried in each other's arms by the foot steps, listening to the few passing cars and the rusting leaves in the trees.

I wasn't sure if he wanted to let go of me. I knew he had a troubling past and that the last thing he needed was another person to cry on him. That was saved for the music. It was what we did as a band. It was something never seen through half-humans like us.

And yet I was human enough to cry. Echo Tesla.

"Echo," I felt his thumb brush against my face.

I exhaled again, nervous to look directly at him. "I'm sorry. I know you've never seen me like this. In fact, nobody has besides my parents."

"Echo," he whispered again. "Look at me darling."

I slowly looked up, holding me breath.

His glasses were off, revealing a pair of eyes equally as sorrowful as mine, not a trace of anger in them. "What's the matter Baby?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, rolling my eyes. Another tear trailed down. "I guess…"

"…guess what?" He still held on to me.

Just tell him. You had to open up sooner or later.

"Okay, I'm just afraid that you'll…leave me." I looked down again.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because you don't like being with emotional half-humans. People can get emotional, but we can't. Yet I'm acting so human now. I've also noticed that we are spending less time together. I think that's because I'm breaking. I want to do more things with you but everything always got in the way. It's so frustrating and I'm sick of it!" I took in a breath to calm down and then continued, going back into a whisper. "So I'm afraid you'll leave me."

Silence.

Suddenly, Austin chuckled softly and shook his head. I looked up, surprised.

"Who ever said I would leave you?"

I rolled my eyes, embarrassed. "I told you I was being too emotional."

Then he cupped my shoulders…and kissed me softly. Within seconds, I immediately felt better.

"Echo," he whispered. "I will never leave you Echo. In fact, you opening up to me like that just shows me how much you care about us. I had to walk away because… well…"

"What?" I looked up, curious.

He shifted a little before answering. "I was afraid you were going to leave me."

"Never!" I pulled him in tight, pressing my cheek into his chest. "I would never leave you Austin. Believe me. There is no one I would rather be with."

"I'm so relieved."

"Me too," I chuckled, happy again. He chuckled, too, holding me closer.

A long moment passed as we continued to watch the stars in the night sky. A half-hour passed before we realized Austin had to get home now. It was almost midnight.

With us holding each other's hands, we both strolled back to his car. But before he pulled out of the driveway, I heard him call my name: "Hey Echo!"

I turned around. "Hm?"

"I love you."

I grinned, suddenly on top of the world, realizing that I didn't have to hide myself. He loved me for who I was, emotional or not.

"I love you, too," I smiled.

And then he kissed me again, holding me under the stars for one last time, before pulling away.


End file.
